Hawaii County committee delays resolution urging military to halt Pohakuloa live-fire exercises

On July 22, the Hawaii County Policy Committee on Environmental and Natural Resource Management postponed action on Resolution 234-25, which urges the state to request that the U.S. military cease bombing and “desecration activities” at the Pohakuloa Training Area and to reject land swaps or lease renewals without certain stipulations. Council Member Rebecca Villegas, who introduced the resolution, moved to postpone the item to the committee meeting on Aug. 19 in Kona; Council Member Fresh Onishi seconded. The motion passed 7-0 with three members recorded as absent.

The measure grew out of broader community concern after the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources rejected the Army’s final environmental impact statement for Pohakuloa on May 9; supporters said the rejection shows the Army’s environmental review was inadequate. “On May 9, the Department of Land and Natural Resources voted to reject the Army’s final EIS to retain its lease on state land for Pohakuloa Training Area,” said Council Member Rebecca Villegas, chair of the committee. Villegas told colleagues the resolution does not preclude emergency services, fire mitigation, reforestation or cleanup activities at the site.

Public testimony at the meeting was sharply divided. Testifiers supporting the resolution urged an immediate halt to live-fire bombing and comprehensive cleanup of unexploded ordnance and contamination. Jim Albertini of Malu ʻĀina said, “The military needs to stop bombing and shelling Pohakuloa. It needs to clean up its unexploded ordinance and toxic mess created from 80 years of live fire.” Members of conservation and Native Hawaiian groups described cultural and environmental harms, raised concerns about possible depleted uranium residues, and asked for a full archaeological inventory and a Kapaʻakai cultural analysis under the National Historic Preservation Act’s Section 106 process. Pua Case read a proposed amendment asking that the Army immediately cease all live-fire exercises at Pohakuloa until a comprehensive archaeological inventory survey is completed in accordance with Section 106.

Other speakers urged caution. Vaughn Cook, representing the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hawaii, urged further study and said the military provides emergency services and local economic benefits. “We recognize some of the concerns raised in the resolution, but do not believe there would likely be negative impacts on our community were the U.S. military to accept the resolution’s recommendation to immediately cease its military training activities at Pohakuloa Training Area,” Cook said, recommending more stakeholder engagement before action. David Kurihara, president of the Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce, emphasized military emergency-response roles and economic ties, citing about 230 local employees and an annual contribution he said was $74 million.

Noelani Kalipi, a testifier who described past service in the JAG Corps, opposed the resolution on readiness grounds. “Live fire training is vitally important for our National Guard members who are willing to put their lives on the line,” she said, arguing that realistic weapons training improves survivability in combat and that some Pohakuloa functions provide critical emergency response on the island.

Council members asked for more specificity and citations in the resolution language. Council Member James Eustice asked that clauses referencing depleted uranium, wildfire causation and other environmental claims be supported with specific citations. Council Member Heather Kimball requested clearer linkage between cited court cases and the resolution’s text, and asked that the resolution list the state Department of Health among agencies to receive the measure. Council Member Michelle Galimba (who joined remotely earlier) and others acknowledged the complexity: Galimba noted both the documented environmental harms and the Army’s role in endangered species protection and emergency response, and urged a more balanced wording.

Given those questions and a flurry of suggested technical edits and additions from council members and testifiers, Villegas moved to postpone the measure to allow staff and the introducer to refine the language and add requested citations. The motion to postpone was moved by Council Member Rebecca Villegas and seconded by Council Member Fresh Onishi; the committee voted 7 in favor, 0 opposed, 0 abstaining, with three members recorded as absent. The resolution is scheduled to return to the committee on Aug. 19 in Kona.

Votes and formal actions taken during the meeting were limited to the procedural motion to postpone the resolution. No committee vote on the substantive recommendations in Resolution 234-25 occurred at this meeting.